


The Truth Will Set You Free

by kg1507



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor-centric, POV Lena Luthor, Post Reveal, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-06-29 23:13:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19840516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kg1507/pseuds/kg1507
Summary: “Why didn’t you trust me?”“Because I didn’t want to lose you.”





	The Truth Will Set You Free

It’s been three weeks, and Lena is tired of waiting. She’s tried being patient, but now that she knows her best friend is actually a superhero, and has been keeping it from her and potentially _only_ her for the last three years, three weeks feels a lot longer than it should.

Maybe it’s because of how stupid Lex made her feel with his dying words. Maybe she’s more angry with herself for not seeing what was right in front of her. Maybe she’s just not as good at playing the long game as she used to be, or maybe it’s a combination of all the above - but more than anything else, it’s because she told Kara the truth about Lex’s death, gave her all the details save for one very important eye-opening video montage… and Kara said _nothing _.__

Lena could’ve kept her secrets and no one would’ve ever known the wiser, but she’d been so sure that Kara would confess and end the charade, but she hadn’t. It almost didn’t even matter that Kara hadn’t been put off by her confession - in fact, it somehow felt worse. At least if Kara had stormed out, disgusted, it would’ve been an excuse for her to continue keeping her own secret, but she’d been typical Kara, understanding and steadfast in her loyalty - so why hadn’t she opened up to Lena in return?

Lena drummed her fingers restlessly on her desk; She had asked Kara to come to her office that afternoon to talk, but she was still trying to decide what she was going to say. She didn’t want to force anything out of Kara - she wanted her to __want__ to share on her own, but she was also tired of the game, tired of pretending everything was fine and turning a blind eye to Kara’s hasty exits when trouble only Supergirl could handle arose. Lena just wanted all of the lying to stop, and, more than anything, to understand why the lies had started in the first place.

Her intercom buzzed and the receptionist’s voice came on the line. “Kara Danvers here to see you, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena pushed the call button, “Send her in, please.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcing herself to be calm and collected. _Little boxes…_ She couldn’t quite muster up a convincing smile today - she was too drained from weeks of fake cheerfulness and hurt feelings.

The door opened and Kara walked in, bubbly as ever. “Hey! Sorry I’m a little late, there was a uh…” As Kara tried to come up with a reason for her tardiness, Lena rose from her chair and quickly walked over to her, enveloping her in a tight hug before Kara could say anything else. She couldn’t bear to hear another half-baked excuse, couldn’t bear to have Kara utter one more lie straight to her face.

Kara hugged her back, a little surprised at the sudden contact. She sensed something different about her friend, something sad and painful. She pulled away, her brow furrowed in concern. “Hey… is everything ok? You don’t seem like yourself.”

No, she wasn’t. Because as angry and hurt and impatient as Lena was, she couldn’t help but feel a tug of affection for her best friend despite everything. Maybe Lena just wasn’t so good at faking it anymore. A lot of walls had been torn down these last three years, and she absently wondered if that was a good or bad thing.

“We should sit down.” She gestured to the couch.

“O…kay?” Kara responded, tugging at her sleeve self-consciously as she sank into the plush leather. “What’s up?”

Lena took a moment to gather herself as Kara waited for an answer. She cleared her throat, meeting Kara’s confused gaze. “Kara, we’ve been friends for a while now, and honestly, I can’t imagine not having you and Alex in my life. Before I met you, I was… cold… and lonely… and I felt like I couldn’t depend on anyone except myself. It was an awful way to live, and…” She paused for a brief second. “I just want you to know that you really did save me, all of you, just by accepting me.” Lena felt her throat tighten and she forced herself to keep talking.

“I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of. I’ve kept a lot of secrets, and you are the one person who has always stood by my side no matter what. It means more to me than you’ll ever know,” She took Kara’s hand, squeezing it once. “I just want you to know that I will always do the same for you. I will always be on your side, just as I know you’ll always be on mine. I don’t want you to think you can’t trust me, even if it’s painful for me to hear.”

Kara’s eyes were flitting back and forth uneasily, her body stiff and tense. She looked like a bird in a cage, trapped. “Lena, what…” Her voice was dry as she trailed off, and Lena lowered her tone a bit, hoping she sounded soothing as she continued.

“Kara… if you need to tell me something… please, I want to know. I want to be there for you the same way you’ve always been there for me.”

Kara withdrew her hand and turned away, ducking her head over her shoulder so that Lena couldn’t gauge her expression. She hadn’t tried to run yet, which Lena supposed was a good sign, but she also hadn’t said anything either. She wasn’t even trying to brush it off, something she’d done more than once in the past. Lena could almost see the walls start to crumble and she sensed that Kara felt it too. She knew she shouldn’t push, but she was so close now that she had to take the risk.

“Kara, whatever it is, I… I just want you to know you don’t need to hide it from me anymore.”

Kara stood up without a word, keeping her back towards Lena and she was suddenly afraid that she’d pushed too far. Lena started to follow but thought better of it and stayed seated, her stomach churning with unease. She wanted to keep talking, if only to fill the silence, but she sensed that that was the wrong move. Lena was powerless, waiting for a response that was less and less likely to come with each passing second. She bowed her head, trying not to let her disappointment consume her.

“You know, don’t you?”

Lena looked up and saw that Kara’s shoulders were shaking, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. She turned towards Lena and her eyes were full of anguished tears threatening to spill over.

Lena slowly stood, afraid that Kara would bolt like a frightened rabbit at the slightest movement. She nodded once in reply, and Kara’s eyes closed in an expression of utter remorse.

“I’m so sorry.” Her tears flowed freely, leaving a damp track down her face.

Lena shook her head. She didn’t want an apology, she wanted an answer to the question she was most afraid to ask. “Why didn’t you trust me?”

Kara responded without hesitation. “Because I didn’t want to lose you.” Her voice broke with emotion as she removed her glasses, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand, not bothering to put them back on.

Lena stared, confused. “What are you talking about? Why would you think you would lose me?”

Kara sniffled weakly and her red-rimmed eyes met hers. “Because I lied to you, for _years_ , and I just… the more time that passed, the more I knew you would hate me for it… but I just couldn’t… I couldn’t do it.” She bit her bottom lip and dropped her gaze, her body shaking with silent grief. “I couldn’t bear the thought of not having you in my life at all, so I tried to live two half-lives and keep you in both.”

Lena was shocked. Whatever she’d been expecting Kara to say, this was not it. No one had ever been afraid of losing her before, not even her own blood family. She’d never been needed like this, not for the Luther fortune or the weight of her influence - but just for the sake of _being _.__ It was confusing and exhilarating all at once.

Lena pulled Kara into her embrace and rocked her gently as she broke down. She held her tightly, feeling Kara’s pain and remorse as if it were her own, and she suddenly realized that she had never seen Kara cry before this moment. “It’s ok,” She murmured softly. “It’s ok, It’s ok…”

“I’m so sorry, Lena,” Kara sobbed. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Lena let her head rest against Kara’s, closing her eyes as she breathed out slowly. She was hurt, she was angry, but she knew that if she was being completely honest with herself, Lena probably would have done the same thing had she been in Kara’s shoes. She had two options: forgive, or forget - and the choice was easy to make.

“I’m not going anywhere.”


End file.
